Weekend Adventures in Canada

A warm weekend was forecasted for both Northern Minnesota and Canada and I don’t like to take those weekends for granted when it comes to Hunting or Fishing. So, I started to gather the gear and prepare for a weekend trip to Canada.

When Saturday morning arrived, Chris & I met up with HSM Pro Staffer Tom Batiuk, and HSM Owner Chad Peterson. Together we headed out to go catch a few Lake Trout. After an hour drive we reached out destination we started punching a few holes in 60-80 feet of water with the K-Drill auger. Soon we all were ripping our baits for those Lakers.

My future husband Chris Bishop was the first to bring up the first Laker of the day. Not only was this the first of the day, it was also the first Lake Trout Chris has ever caught. Capturing moments of the “firsts” together is always something we both cherish together. While Chad & Tom were exploring other little fishing spots across the lake, Chris could pull another Laker from the depths below. When Chad & Tom came back, it was a celebration for another Laker caught, along with the massive Northern Pike Chad caught.

With lunch time nearing, Tom went to get a fire going to start cooking the brats for lunch and to roast a few Marshmallow’s for S’Mores for dessert. There is something about cooking brats and S’Mores on the ice that always tastes so delicious.

The end of the day is nearing and we were walking about getting things wrapped up for the day when Chris gets a hit, instantly the rod was bending and the drag was singing. Twenty minutes later Chris lands the Lake Trout of his life. The Trout measured 31 inches in length, 17 inches in girth and weighing in at 15 lbs. After a few photos and high fives from us all, Chris released this Canadian beauty back into the waters.

Sunday Morning, we were greeted with dense fog, but that didn’t stop us from getting our gear ready for another day of fishing, our goal was to target Crappies. We started our journey with a 15-mile snowmobile ride across the frozen waters, on the way Tom Batiuk took us to a rock wall where Native American’s had painted on them. It was quite amazing to see something that is part of history that was hundreds of years old, and yet so clear of what was painted. Walking back to our sleds, I couldn’t help to think to myself “what happened here so many years ago to make them paint about it?”

As we arrived at our destination, we set up in 25-27 feet of water, we all drop our lines in and begin to fish the flasher marks that light up our screens. Sure enough, those little buggers were not interested in what I had on. So, I change it up to a Pink & White Clam Outdoors Drop Jig with a White Polli by Maki Plastic. With that I could trick a few stubborn Crappies to bite. By early afternoon we started to pack it up and make our way home to Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Our weekend of fishing, being surrounded with friends that are more like family will be one none of us will forget anytime soon. With everyone catching fish, eating S’mores, laughing and high fiving. It reminds all of us what the great outdoors is all about.